Fix You
by Wandering Namekian
Summary: Beware of homunculi bearing gifts. In a world where everything comes with a price what are you willing to pay to get what you want? When is that price so high that the exchange is no longer equivalent? LingxRan Fan, manga only characters, and Envy.


**A/N: This is based off the manga, it's about Ling and Ran Fan, so if you haven't read the manga you don't know who they are, so I'm not sure why you would bother reading this. I could make an arugement about how spoiler warnings are bad and ruin the point of fan fiction, but seeing as no one would care, I might as well say that this story has spoilers if you haven't read until chapter 47 of the manga. **

**The setting is basically a little while after chapter 52. Nothing that happens post chapter 47 is talked about though. **

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Format (for those who haven't read my Zim fics and are therefore new to it): **

**Bold **Author's Notes

_Italics_ Thoughts, telepathy, or emphasis (or opening quote)

" " Speech

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Fix You

_When you try your best, but you don't succeed  
When get what you want, but not what you need  
When feel so tired, but you can't sleep  
Stuck in reverse_

_And the tears come streaming down your face  
When you lose something you can't replace  
When you love someone but it goes to waste  
Could it be worse?_

_

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_  
"So?" a voice called to him tauntingly, "how's it going?" Ling spun around to locate the source of the voice. Or rather, the location, he knew who it was, which he considered unfortunate, for if it hadn't been for this particular person (using the term person loosely), the last few weeks would have been a lot more pleasant. He was pretty easy to find though, not many lizards had the ability to transform into transvestites.

"What do you want?" Ling replied.

"Oh boy, Squinty-eyes, do you have it wrong," Envy replied. "It's not about what I want, not at all, it's about what you want."

"What the Hell are you talking about?" Ling asked, now more than a little annoyed. "I've no time for games, so whatever your going to say go ahead and say it. Or don't. I don't really care, I just want you to go away. Haven't you bothered us enough for one lifetime? Can't you and your mini-skirt go nauseate someone else? I mean, this really isn't fair, I just ate."

"I'd be nicer to me if I were you Squinty-eyes," Envy answered ominously.

"Let's see, you try to kill us on a regular basis, wear a disturbingly tight outfit and call me Squinty-eyes," Ling said bitterly. "Which one of these was supposed to make me want to be nice to you again?"

"'Us'? Did you just say 'us'?" Envy asked.

"Yes? So what?" responded Ling.

"Ah, yes, the ninja girl, or should I say luggage," Envy said.

"What did you call her?" Ling shouted, fiercely, his eyes snapping open. His hand went to his sword.

"Calm down, Squinty-eyes, I didn't mean to offend you." Envy took a few steps back, defensively. "I just heard that she was in pretty bad shape. Wrath said she was able to avoid his coup de grce. She even cut through his sword. She's lucky she only lost an arm, she should be dead now."

"Luck had nothing to do with it," Ling seethed. "If we had any manner of luck at all we never would have run into you bastards. Ran Fan was able to survive due to her fighting skill and strength, that's all."

"Don't be so modest, you helped too, supposedly you carried her for almost three kilometers. That's a lot of work to do for a servant, especially a worthless one," Envy responded. "You humans are sentimental like that; it's so… so… what's the word I'm looking for here? Oh yes, quaint. No, that's not it. Pathetic, yes, that's it, that's the word I was looking for. Anyway, what is odd is that you'd let her out of your sight. Don't tell me you abandoned her?"

"I'd never do that!" Ling yelled, disgusted by the idea. "I'm not like you! I don't abandon someone just because I can't use them to my advantage!"

"Of course not, because that would make sense, therefore you wouldn't do it," Envy responded. "Although that does make one wonder where she is. Do you even know?

"If I did know do you really think I'd tell you?" Ling retorted. "I'm not so stupid as to lead you straight to her when she's injured."

"If you did know…hmm. Then you don't know do you? That's great." Envy smiled, an annoying, knowing smile.

"You know where she is?" Ling shouted in shock. He took out his sword. "Tell me! Tell me right now!" Ling grabbed Envy by the neck and pinned him to the wall of a nearby building. He was seriously considering going ahead and stabbing Envy once, just to work out his anger. He held his sword steady though, he didn't want to get Envy angry enough so that he wouldn't respond. If Envy knew where Ran Fan was that was all that mattered for the time being. He could always deal with Envy later. "Where is she? What did you do to her? She better be safe!"

Envy looked at him for a moment and then burst out laughing. "Oh man, Squinty-eyes," he said through his laughter. "That was priceless. I love the power a few choice words can have over you humans. All I had to do was imply I knew something about the location your beloved servant and you completely lost your temper, it's amazing."

Ling's eyes narrowed. "You don't know where she is, do you." It was more a statement than a question. "It's all a game to you. Nothing matters to you, how can it? You have nothing to lose. Even death is worthless in your mind because there is nothing you love in life that you would leave behind. To you it's all about you and what you want. But when it comes down to it do you really want anything? No. You just follow orders, not out of love, but out of nothing better to do. You're nothing more than slaves; pawns in a bigger system that you think you understand. I actually pity you." He looked at the homunculus for a moment, then turned to walk away. He heard the sound of clapping behind him. He turned back around to face Envy.

"Brilliant speech," Envy said contumeliously, "although I've never seen anyone so against slavery. That is, as far as slave owners go."

This time Ling did stab Envy. "She's not my slave," Ling hissed venomously, as he pulled his sword out of the shape shifter's abdomen. It was a pity that a fatal stab wound was not enough to shut him up.

"Temper, temper, Squinty-eyes. I didn't attack you; I'm not here to fight. Let's just have a nice, peaceful, not-bloody conversation, can you handle that?" Envy said, standing up as his wound healed. "Now, I think we were talking about the luggage, yes that's right. You say she's not a slave? Do you pay her, then? Have you ever given her the chance to be free?"

"No," said Ling slowly, "I haven't."

"Sounds like a slave to me," Envy replied.

"But if she wanted her freedom I'd give it to her," Ling responded.

"You don't think she wants her freedom?" Envy asked. "If not, why don't you know where she is? Can you be sure that she wasn't tired of putting life and limb, excuse the expression, on the line for someone she didn't really want to work for in the first place?"

Ling looked at him, horrified. Envy burst into laughter again.

"You're great, Squinty-eyes, did you know that?" said Envy. "I can just pull something out of my ass and you'll believe it, as long as I make sure to include your missing luggage in the story! Humans: mostly worthless, but great entertainment!"

"Why am I even listening to you?" Ling asked. "You have nothing to say that is worthy of hearing." He turned from Envy and began to walk away.

"So sure of that?" Envy questioned. "How can you be so sure that I don't know where your luggage is? Or maybe even something more important?"

"Nothing's more important!" Ling responded turning back around.

"Fine, fine," Envy said, "I won't argue with you about that Squinty-eyes, there's no sense in trying to talk humans out of loving worthless things. But there is something else that's important isn't there? Isn't there something you've really wanted? Something that you've had a hard time getting?"

"Of course," Ling answered. "Many things, actually. None of which I would confide in you. Now, seeing as this really isn't going anywhere, I'm going to leave. This half-naked homunculus interrogation is getting a little creepy."

"Oh come on," Envy said as if he and Ling were best friends. "I think you know what I'm talking about, Squinty-eyes."

"I was going to tell you I have a name," said Ling, completely ignoring what Envy had just said and beginning to walking away. "But then decided it wouldn't do any good, seeing as you probably wouldn't use it, and I don't really want you knowing my name anyway."

"Are you really that thick?" Envy asked irately. "Dear god, how can you not see what's right in front of you? Maybe it's the squinty little eyes, is that it?"

"Yes, that's it," Ling answered sarcastically, continuing to walk away. "I'm glad you've finally figured it out. Now that you've solved that great mystery maybe you can leave us the Hell alone for a while."

"Fine," yelled Envy. "I don't know what Father was thinking anyway. You humans are so inconvenient! I don't know what he was thinking, sending me here to offer you the Philosopher's Stone."

Ling immediately stopped and turned around. "What did you say?" he said, stunned.

"I'm sorry, I forgot my audience, I'll use less syllables," Envy said. "I have the Philosopher's Stone. Do you want it?"

"Are you serious?" Ling asked in disbelief.

"Of course I am," Envy said, pulling something out of his seemingly non-existent pocket. He lifted the object until it caught the light. The stone's blood red color was evident despite the poor quality of the street lamps. The stone was small, no larger than an egg.

Ling stared at in sheer disbelief for a moment, then his eyes narrowed. "What's the catch?"

"No catch," said Envy, smiling surreptitiously.

"Then what's the exchange?" Ling asked. "Everything in this country from alchemy to economics is based on what you call 'Equivalent Exchange.' If you're giving me something as valuable as the Philosopher's Stone, you must be expecting something just as valuable in return. What is it?"

"Oh that," said Envy offhandedly, "that's been taken care of. Don't worry about it. This is yours now." Envy threw him the stone.

Instinctively, Ling reached out and caught it. He could sense many people inside of the stone, as he could inside of the homunculi, it was definitely the real thing, but instead of feeling the overwhelming joy he had expected upon getting the Philosopher's Stone, it only worried him more. Homunculi try to kill you, they don't just hand you the Philosopher's Stone and tell you "not to worry about it," they just don't.

"What do you mean it's been 'taken care of'?" Ling asked skeptically.

"I'm not sure it's really my place to tell you that," Envy said. "It wasn't my idea. It wasn't my agreement. I was merely the messenger. There is someone here who had a much bigger part in this than I, maybe that's who you should talk to. If you'll direct your eyes to the alley on my left, I think you'll see what I'm talking about."

The darkness was able to keep the mystery alive for another moment, yet as soon as Ran Fan stepped out into the dimly lit alleyway, Ling wondered why he hadn't figured it out earlier, although he was still having trouble accepting it now.

"Ran Fan, what's going on?" he murmured. "What are you doing here, I don't understand—"

"I'm doing my duty as your servant," she responded. "I cannot fight anymore. Even if I get another arm the surgery will take months to recover from. By the time I would be able to fight again, the Emperor would probably be dead, and it would be too late. This is the only way I can help you now. Exchanging a worthless servant for the Philosopher's Stone was too good an offer to throw away. This is how things should be. You don't have any use or need for me anymore."

"Ran Fan, you can't be serious, it's not worth it," Ling said. "You can't do this."

"Yes, I can, and I will, I have to," Ran Fan answered. "Young Master, it's the only way."

"Ran Fan, no," Ling breathed. He took a step toward her, and saw a tear run down her cheek.

"None of that," said Envy, stepping between them, "you can't have your stone and servant too, no grabbing her and running off. It's time we left anyway, Father will wonder what's taking so long."

"Wait!" said Ling, "where are you taking her? What are you going to do to her?"

"Why would I tell you those things?" Envy replied. "What makes you think I could? I'm not privy to all of Father's plans. And even if I could, I wouldn't, it would just worry you. And you look worried enough as it is. Now, time to go."

Ling noticed the light grenade in Ran Fan's hand. "No! Don't!" he yelled.

"Now!" commanded Envy. Ran Fan's hand trembled for a moment before she threw the grenade.

"No!" Ling yelled as loudly as he could.

"It's for the best, goodbye, Young Master," he heard Ran Fan's voice call through the light that was more blinding than any darkness. By the time the effects of the grenade wore off and shadow started to work its way back into his vision, Ran Fan and Envy were gone. Leaving Ling to look at the stone, wondering what the Hell was so equivalent about that exchange.

* * *

Ling's eyes snapped open. He felt tears in his eyes and quickly blinked them away. He looked across the room and saw Ran Fan asleep on the bed opposite his. For some reason, despite the fact that he knew that the homunculi wouldn't want to trade the Philosopher's Stone for Ran Fan, and that even if he had been in that situation he would have been able to find Ran Fan by sensing her ki, the dream still really bothered him. Maybe because he knew there was a ring of truth to it, it was the kind of sacrifice Ran Fan would make, and that was what scared him. He watched her as she shifted, rolling over on her back. It was then he realized that she wasn't sleeping. 

"Ran Fan," he said, "why aren't you asleep? You're going to have to get some sleep. It's not good for you normally, and your injury isn't making it any healthier."

"Young master, you know it's not safe for both of us to sleep at the same time," Ran Fan responded. "It's important for one of us to keep watch."

"I'm glad to see that neither your lack of sleep nor your injury have affected your paranoia," Ling said, bemused.

"Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not all out to get you," she replied, indignantly.

"We're not in Xing anymore, not everyone here's out to get me. I doubt more than ten people even know who I am," Ling reminded her.

"Yes, but they are ten very dangerous people," Ran Fan argued.

"That can't be the only reason you're awake. You slept well enough before all this happened. Something else must be bothering you, what is it?" he asked.

"It's just, I couldn't help thinking about things, like my arm," she paused for a moment. "And your goal."

"Our goal," he corrected her, "we're in this together. I wouldn't have gotten this far without you and I won't go any farther without you. We have plenty of time to work out all of the details later, now you need to sleep. Will you do that?"

She was silent. Ling sighed. "I might as well face it, neither of us is going to get any sleep tonight. There are a lot things we need to talk about, so what better time than the present? Even if the present is…" He looked at the clock on the table. "Three thirty-seven AM." Ling stood up slowly and walked across the room, hesitating a moment before sitting on the edge of her bed. He looked down at her; there were small, dark circles under her striking black eyes. She looked at him for a moment, then turned away and fixed her eyes to a point on the wall. His eyes followed the graceful curve of her neck down to where it connected with the rest of her body. The blanket that covered her, much like her normal clothing, was fitted very loosely over her slight form, making her appear much larger than she actually was. He glanced at her face again, and noticed that her hair was still tied in its usual tight bun. "That can't be comfortable," he said to her.

She looked up at him, bewildered. "Huh? What are you—?"

"Your hair," he responded. "It can't be very comfortable to try to sleep with your hair like that."

"It's not, but I can't untie it…" she trailed off, her eyes on her arm.

Ling felt a wave of guilt sweep over him. "You could have asked me to help."

"You shouldn't be bothered with such things," she whispered, sitting up.

"Too late," he replied. He smiled and untied her hair. The freed strands surrounded his fingers, her hair was light and soft, yet sleek; almost like silk. Her eyes closed as his fingertips caressed her scalp, soothingly. The unfamiliar sensation caught her off guard, and a small sigh escaped her lips. Immediately her eyes snapped open and she jerked backwards out of his grasp, hitting her head on the wall behind her.

"You ok?" Ling asked her, concerned.

"Yes, Young Master I'm fine," she replied.

"Let me see," he said, reaching forward to feel her head for some sign of a bump. She looked at him warily for a moment, then leaned forward slightly so he could reach her. His fingers slowly worked their way over the surface of her head. She was fine; she hadn't hit her head very hard. He tried to stop, but found he couldn't. He knew he didn't want to stop; he didn't want to let go of her. He moved a little closer to her.

"Young Master, no," Ran Fan said, backing away, "we can't do this." Her eyes were full of regret and sorrow. "You deserve better. I'm sorry." She looked down, as a tear streamed down her face.

He felt the need to reach out to her, to comfort her, to hold her. He was tired of denying that he had feelings for her. He didn't care that she was a servant, or that she was missing her arm, or what anyone back in Xing would think if they found out. He was the one who was going to be Emperor, and if she was good enough for him what right did anyone have to complain? He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him. She tried to fight, but her heart was clearly not in it and she wasn't able to pull away. "Shh," Ling whispered, stroking her hair, "it's ok."

"But Young Mas—" She looked up at him to argue.

He placed a finger on her lips to silence her. "Ling," he corrected her. "I can't be your master anymore."

"I understand," she responded sadly, trying to move away from him. "I'm worthless now. I can't follow you anymore. I—"

"Ran Fan, no, that's not it," he said, not letting her escape. "It's just that I don't want you following me because you have to. I don't want you with me just because it's your job as a servant. I can't stand the idea of making you do anything you don't want to. Ran Fan, tell me, do you still want to follow me after all that's happened?"

"Yes, I do," she answered. "That is, if you still want me to."

"More than anything," he replied. She looked up at him. There were still tears on her face, though her eyes sparkled with a new light. He wiped them away then wrapped one arm around her, supporting her back, as his other hand continued to caress her face. Her eyes closed blissfully, and she sighed as his hand massaged her bare back below her bandages. But this time she didn't jerk away, instead she relaxed into his embrace. He felt her shiver slightly as he ran his finger down her spine. He stared at her for a moment. Her radiant, silky black hair framing her face and neck; her eyes closed, reveling in all the new sensations she was experiencing; the shallow sighs and breaths escaping from her slightly parted lips. Ling closed his own eyes as he leaned forward, so his lips could reach hers. He kissed her gently, savoring the feeling of her lips on his for the first time.

"Ran Fan," he whispered, as soon as they parted, "I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. But I don't know if I can stand to be around you if you don't feel the same way, I'll go crazy. Do you love me?"

"Of course I love you," she responded, wrapping her arm around his neck. "I just never thought—"

He cut her off with a sudden, passionate kiss. He pulled her closer to him, his fingers running lovingly through her hair and up and down her back.

As they separated again, she placed her hand on his chest, preventing him from kissing her again. "But I'm just a servant," she whispered between breaths. "And you're a prince—"

"I don't see what that has to do with anything," he responded, brushing back a few strands of her hair and placing loving kisses on her neck.

"But what will everyone say?" she asked.

"Who cares?" Ling said. "They can't do anything about it. Screw propriety. I'm the one, who's going to be Emperor, if they don't like you they can get the Hell out of our country. They don't have stay in Xing. Actually, if they have something against you we'll throw them out of our country, and they can come live here, in a country full of scantily clad homunculi. Then we'll see who doesn't want a former servant for an Empress."

Ran Fan smiled and moved closer to him. He lay down on the bed, with her on top of him. She placed her head on his bare chest and nuzzled him affectionately. He sighed and wrapped an arm around her and holding her tightly. His other hand reached up to stroke her hair. "Ling," she murmured.

He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "It's nice to hear you call me that," he whispered. He kissed her a few more times. "Try to get some sleep, okay? Knowing you, you probably haven't slept in two days."

"Three," she corrected him, yawning a bit. Her eyes closed, and slowly her breathing became more regular; within a few minutes she had fallen asleep. He looked at her. He knew he should be trying to figure out what they were going to do next; what about their original plan should change now that so many other things had. And even beyond that, back in Xing, how people would react to their relationship. But just for a moment, none of those things mattered. The sun would rise, in a few hours, as it always did and bring with it the painful crash of reality. Until then though, those things would not exist; until then, they would be normal people; not broken, not hunted, not battle scarred; just normal people, with normal lives, enjoying the beauty of "normal" love.

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_Lights will guide you home  
And ignite your bones  
And I will try to fix you_

-"Fix You," Coldplay

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**A/N: Please review if you liked it or even if you didn't. It's the first fic with them I've actually bothered to finish and post and it's one of the only stories I've ever written that I just typed on the computer rather than writing it out by hand in a notebook first. I'm brainstorming a few more ideas, some serious like this one, but most of them more humorous in nature (I usually write humor Invader Zim stories, so this has a lot more romance than I'm used to writing in my "romance" fics, and there's not that much in here). All feedback is appreciated. **

**On a funnier note, I used the outfit I wore to cosplay Ran Fan for Tech Crew on my school play this week. I found some blank price tags up in the prop loft and wrote "1 Philosopher's Stone" on one side and "Equivalent Exchange" on the other and attached it to my belt. Most of my friends have read this story and thought it was hilarious, if not a little creepy. And the fact that the throne in the play looked suspiciously like "Father's" chair and the costumes had so much spandex that they looked like they were designed by Envy didn't help either. **

**And thanks to all the loyal readers of my Zim story, "That Strange Feeling in the Pit of One's Squeedlyspooch" (if any of you are reading this). I have finished writing the story in my notebook and am working on typing it up. It should be done in a few weeks and I'm sorry I kept you waiting so long.**

**That's all. If I get enough support I might continue to write drabbles for obscure couples.**

**-pat-pat-  
-Dende-sama was here.**

**Allison**


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